lmao this shit is nuts and an escalation of fascism we haven't seen since the early days after 9/11. After months of fear-mongering about the supposed takeover of all facets of government by MAGA fascists if Trump wins, the fuckin dems went and passed everything they warned us would pass if we didn't bend the knee and back Genocide Joe, I think most leftists (including me) are still too shell shocked at this early stage to realize the full implications of what we've just been hit with, seriously wtf

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[–] halfpipe@hexbear.net 0 points 6 months ago (3 children)

We were saying 6 months ago that there would be a crackdown, simply because the US can't support a genocidal colonial project if the victims can livestream their suffering to the world.

But what's really weird here, and I think no one could have predicted, is the mass suppression and arrest of Ivy League student protestors. They're protesting peacefully, which they've been told is the only moral and acceptable way. They're not making any material demands, and they're not tied into a workers movement that could strike and threaten capital. Anyone with knowledge of previous college protests and the academic year could have told them that this is harmless, and that it would fizzle out as summer started, but instead they've violently cracked down in a way that's causing the protests to spread, while also radicalizing and blackballing the children of privilege , the people that are supposed to carry on the ideological future of liberalism and sign up to be the next generation of the imperial bureaucracy and the NGOs.

[–] JayTwo@hexbear.net 1 points 6 months ago (1 children)

They're protesting peacefully, which they've been told is the only moral and acceptable way

"Peaceful" was always this (intentionally) malleable concept. Nonviolent is better as there's a more solid definition of what counts as violence than what counts as "peaceful" being that it can also mean quiet and easy to ignore.

Anything objectionable to them can cause a protest to not be "peaceful". Not having the proper permits, not dispersing when ordered to, slowing down traffic, being an eyesore, being too loud, etc.

Take this NYT editorial for example: sure they're nonviolent but because of those drums they keep beating their protest isn't "peaceful" because their racket is disturbing the peace.

It tends to be used as a stealth euphemism for "ineffective" as to libs and reactionaries (inb4 "why did you call out the same people twice?") anything they don't like that they're made to notice will harm their believed right to "peace and quiet" and therefore not be "peaceful."
It's also very motte and bailey, changing definition depending on the opinion's popularity with a certain crowd because the MAGA types who yell about the left never abiding by "peaceful" assembly will then claim 1/6 was "peaceful" overall.

[–] FunkyStuff@hexbear.net 1 points 6 months ago (1 children)

It's all a wash anyway, you can't do nonviolent protests. They'll eventually send in the police and inevitably start violent conflict regardless. Anyone who splits hairs over protests needing to be nonviolent is probably not gonna change their mind on the issue and isn't our ally.

[–] JayTwo@hexbear.net 1 points 6 months ago

Fair. And your point has been salient since before we were all born.
Just that "peaceful assembly" is even fuckier a concept since something as anodyne as a drum bullhorn or loudspeaker can apparently break it.

[–] CTHlurker@hexbear.net 1 points 6 months ago (1 children)

In typical boomer fashion, the people in charge absolutely categorically refuse to think long term, particularly if the long term is more than 5 years.

[–] Lemmygradwontallowme@hexbear.net 1 points 6 months ago

You think this is an accident...?

This is just a race to the bottom, and every time, one of these sides early on scream about moral authority so-true

Immediately, the one with 'moral authority' races down to the bottom with the wrong-doer...

[–] aaaaaaadjsf@hexbear.net 0 points 6 months ago* (last edited 6 months ago) (1 children)

It's because the bourgeoise is shutting the door and kicking down the ladder behind them. The student protests will be drawn along class lines. The majority of students protesting in support of Palestine will be those on grants, bursaries and scholarships. So normal people good at academics or sports. The majority of those on the Zionist side will be the rich fail children there because of money, family connections, or both. By cracking down hard on the protests, the bourgeoise are saying that class mobility is dead, unless you fully assimilate to their moral values. In essence, that's the message here. Class mobility is dead, there will be no way to improve your position without fully selling out, and we are going towards a pseudo caste/feudal system.

[–] pastalicious@hexbear.net 1 points 6 months ago

This checks out with what I was thinking. They know they’re killing the youth vote and they’re going to be ready with their ideological response when they lose in November. Just spitballing here but maybe they help republicans pass compulsory military service to fix the enlistment problem and the Dems say it’s the youths fault for not bending the knee in spite of them doing everything they could to turn them away. It could be something else but I get the feeling they going to start feeding the youth into the wood chipper even faster and more deliberately and sell it to the radlibs as just desserts for not bending the knee in November despite them doing everything they could to kill the energy of the youth vote.